Rancher kills dog attacking his cattle

FELLSMERE, FL— After being tipped off by law enforcement, a rancher fatally shot a pit bull dog that was among three attacking his cattle Tuesday night in this rural community.

A man who was seen with the dog in the 5-acre pasture, on north Willow Street, ran away and hasn’t been found.
The two other dogs disappeared.

And an Indian River County Animal Control officer said the dead 60-pound dog had no identification. It is being kept in a freezer for evidence.

The dogs chewed the ears of three of five cows and one bull on the property of Yvonne and Ali Roldan who live about a mile north of County Road 512.

Otherwise the cattle are OK.

The couple were in their home at 8 p.m. when an officer on road patrol alerted them their cattle were being attacked for unknown reasons, they said.

The couple hadn’t heard anything, but when they went outside, “One of the pit bulls had a cow pinned down on the ground” and the officer used a Taser to get it off, Yvonne Roldan said. Then her husband shot one pit bull three times with a shotgun.

She said each cow is worth about $1,300.

The wife could only speculate why the dogs were in the pasture: cattle rustling or for training.

According to Indian River County Animal Control, the incident is isolated. A month ago loose dogs killed two chickens in Gifford.